First of all, a very big Thank you to all of you who completed the recent survey which asked, effectively, for your support of the library. The response was quite amazing – we received nearly 900 replies, virtually all (99%) giving us your powerfully worded reasons for your support, including many who don’t actually use the library.

That led to another huge Thank you, this time to the Parish Council. Following a very successful presentation to Barrow Parish Council by members of the Library Management Committee (LMC) and the Operations team in September, councillors agreed a substantial contribution towards the library running costs during its current lease (ending in July 25). The LMC is actively pursuing an extension to the lease with Leicestershire County Council.

With many calls on its funding, the Parish Council sought assurance that the library was giving value for money. It has been a real boost to LMC members and all the library volunteers that councillors as well as customers recognise what a key resource our library is.

While the survey was underway, we were busy making progress with improvements to the library car park. We have now fully tarmacked the surface, thereby replacing the uneven areas with a really smooth surface which we have now marked out with parking lines. We give our grateful Thanks to Tarmac and Jelson (from the Poppy Fields development) and William Davis (Honeysuckle Rise estate in Burton) for providing the funding for this project. Our library customers with mobility issues are particularly pleased.

The next part of the car park project was the installation of a splendid ramp which can take wheelchairs, walking aids and buggies through the emergency exit into the back of the library. It also means that people exiting the library in an emergency no longer need to stumble down a substantial step. Our warm Thanks go to Awards for All (part of the National Lottery) and Charnwood Borough Council (a Facilities grant) for providing the full funding for the ramp.

And this isn’t the end of our thanks: You might have wondered what all the fuss was about when the library shared its concerns for its future funding. The explanation is clear: it is relatively easy to achieve grants for projects (“capital projects” like installing a ramp); it is extremely difficult to get grants for actually running an organization (“revenue funding” towards salaries, electricity bills etc). This is why the library is particularly grateful to Barrow Parish Council whose grant will be used towards revenue costs. But it also means that the library needs to fund-raise as hard as it can as well. So when Charnwood Citizen’s Advice gave us an old donations box and Stewart Pawley (Art & Illustration) agreed to paint it, we were thrilled. The box is now installed in the library and its brightly painted images look irresistible. See Article Thank you so much to Charnwood Citizen’s Advice and to Stewart!

Judith Rodgers and Frances Thompson